Sudden Shift

Mother Nature has changed her mind about Saturday, and what was forecast all week as a sunny beautiful day is now expected to be somewhat rainy and very windy as the remnants of Hurricane Noel come north.

This situation may present the Lions with a rare chance to right some of the wrongs of last week in quick fashion. Whatever advantages and disadvantages the Lions dealt with in the rain storms last weekend should serve as ample practice for what could be a more winnable game vs. Harvard tomorrow.

The Crimson's Cheng Ho is a big runner who greatly resembles Yale's Jordan Farrell, who hurt the Lions as much, if not more than, leading Ivy rusher Mike McLeod last Saturday. Of course, Farrell gained his yardage after the rains had stopped and Justin Masorti left the game. If Masorti is back tomorrow and the rains and winds come back as well, the results may be different.

Craig Hormann, who seemed to have a little trouble throwing the wet ball cleanly, has a chance to prove that he's learned from his mistakes.

And overall, the team has a chance to take advantage of the opportunities the bad weather will almost surely give them. Obviously, Harvard will get those opportunities as well. But the Lions must be motivated to prove to Coach Wilson that they can be taught successfully.


Austin & Nico: Don and Bill Redux?


Sophomore Austin Knowlin and Freshman Nico Gutierrez seem like they could make up the best wide receiver tandem at Columbia since Don Lewis and Bill Reggio in 1982. The one difference is that Knowlin and Gutierrez may be more talented. Lewis and Reggio were great players, but they played for QB John Witkowski who was one of the best passers in Ivy history. Craig Hormann is a very good passer, but not anywhere near as good as Witkowski was.

Knowlin still has a chance to beat Lewis' Columbia record of 1,000 yards receiving in a single season. And both Knowlin and Gutierrez have a shot at breaking Reggio's career receiving mark of 2,384 yards.